Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Giants Acquire Michael Reed From Twins

By | at

Per Dan Hayes of the Athletic, the Giants have acquired OF Michael Reed from Minnesota for OF John Andreoli and cash. Per Kerry Crowley of the Mercury News, lefty Steven Okert was designated for assignment to make room on the 40-man.

Reed, 26, was in camp with the Twins after an outstanding AAA performance in the Atlanta system last year. A career .269/.382/.395 hitter in the minors, Reed took it up a notch last season, slashing a ridiculous .363/.459/.539 in 229 plate appearances for AAA-Gwinnett.  Scouts were never too bullish on the longtime Brewer – his highest ever rank in the Milwaukee system per Baseball America was 14th, following the 2014 season – but the recent performance has been too enticing to ignore.

Incredibly, Reed may slot in as the San Francisco’s top projected outfielder for the upcoming season – Steamer, at least, seems to agree. The Giants may not, but the righty-swinging Reed should see plenty of time at each outfield position in ’19, which he may well begin by serving as the weak-side platoon option in center field for lefty Steven Duggar.

Andreoli, 28, was brought in with a host of others to compete for a spot in the wide-open SF outfield, though his minor-league track record doesn’t glow nearly as brightly as Reed’s. The righty did put up an impressive .397 OBP at the AAA level last season, albeit in the much more hitter-friendly confines of the Pacific Coast League.

Okert, 27, has been decent in limited action for the Giants over the last three seasons, and had a banner (3.30 FIP, 12.22 K/9 vs. 2.27 BB/9) AAA season in 2018. Righties have always given the southpaw trouble, but he should have no issue latching on with a new franchise in the coming days.

Yankees Acquire Mike Tauchman From Rockies

By | at

Per a team release, the Yankees have acquired OF Mike Tauchman from Colorado for lefty Phillip Diehl. Left-hander Jordan Montgomery was placed on the 60-day IL to make 40-man room for the outfielder.

Tauchman, 28, has just 69 MLB plate appearances under his belt despite a monster minor-league performance over the last two seasons. With AAA-Albuquerque in 2018, Tauchman slashed .323/.408/.571 with an outstanding 12.7% BB/14.9% K plate-discipline profile. ZiPS projects the lefty, who could see time at all three outfield spots for New York, to post a solid 96 wRC+/1.9 WAR season over 513 plate appearances in 2018.

Diehl, 24, moved to the bullpen full-time in the New York farm last season, to mostly excellent results. He didn’t crack the team’s top 30 prospects at either Baseball America or MLB.com, but if his 14.61 K/9 at high-A Tampa is any indication, the lefty’ll certainly be on the radar of the Rockies brass.

Orioles, Giants Swap Mike Yastrzemski, Tyler Herb

By | at

Per team releases, the Orioles and Giants have swung a minor deal, with righty Tyler Herb headed to Baltimore and outfielder Mike Yastrzemski going to San Francisco.

Yastrzemski, 28, is the grandson of Hall-of-Famer Carl Yastrzemski. He’s made a six-year lap through the Oriole farm, with early highs eventually offset by upper-minors woes. His 2018 season was arguably his best, at least at the AAA level, with the lefty slashing a solid .265/.359/.441 in 374 plate appearances for Norfolk. He’ll provide depth at all three outfield spots for a Giants club starving for warm bodies at each of them.

Herb, 27 next month, began his professional career with Seattle before being sent south as the player to be named later in the Chris Heston deal. 2018 was a struggle for Herb: 13 starts made up his first AAA taste, and it quickly went sour, with the righty posting a 5.35 ERA/5.05 FIP in 70 2/3 innings for Sacramento. Herb has always had issue missing bats, though his repertoire could safely be counted on to induce a high number of grounders. It didn’t last season, though, as the righty posted a career-low 38.1% grounder rate.

AL East Notes: Red Sox, Duffy, Rays, Sabathia

By | at

After chronicling some Blue Jays notes earlier today, let’s take a look around the rest of the American League East…

  • “Unless something completely unanticipated happened,” Dave Dombrowski figures the Red Sox will halt all extension talks by Opening Day, the team president of baseball operations told the media (including Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com).  Most players like to have any negotiations wrapped up before the actual games begin, with Dombrowski also citing his preference for a lack of distractions.  Xander Bogaerts, Rick Porcello, and potentially J.D. Martinez (if he exercises an opt-out clause) are all scheduled for free agency after the season.  Talks with Bogaerts earlier this winter failed to materialize into an extension, while the Sox hadn’t yet discussed a new contract with Porcello as of late February.  Of course, the Red Sox already took care of one major 2019-20 free agent by inking Chris Sale to a new deal that will keep the southpaw in Boston through the 2024 season.
  • Rays third baseman Matt Duffy is likely headed to the IL to begin the season, manager Kevin Cash told reporters (including Eduardo A. Encina and Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times).  Duffy has been bothered by a hamstring problem for much of the spring, and will have tests done after he was a late scratch from today’s game lineup.  The versatile Rays shouldn’t have much of a problem filling in for Duffy in the short term, as Joey Wendle, Yandy Diaz, and Daniel Robertson are all options at third base.  Encina and Topkin also think that Duffy’s injury could open the door for Guillermo Heredia to break camp with the team, unless the Rays choose to use the roster spot on an extra pitcher.
  • The Yankees are considering including C.C. Sabathia on their Opening Day roster in order to immediately get the veteran lefty’s five-game suspension out of the way, George A. King III of the New York Post writes.  Sabathia is already slated for a stint on the injured list as he recovers from an offseason angioplasty and a knee operation, though he would head to the IL after the first five games are up.  The downside for the Yankees is that they would have to play with just 24 active players during the course of Sabathia’s suspension, though there is an off-day within those first five games if any pitchers need some early recovery.

Braves Acquire Matt Joyce

By | at

Per Kerry Crowley of the San Jose Mercury News, the Braves have acquired outfielder Matt Joyce from the Giants for cash considerations. It’ll be the third team this week for the 34-year-old Joyce, who was released Tuesday by Cleveland after the team informed him he wouldn’t crack the Opening Day roster.

Joyce enjoyed a late-career renaissance in 2016 with Pittsburgh, slashing .242/.403/.463 (136 wRC+), and again the following season in Oakland, where his 2.7 fWAR was a career best. He fell back to earth last season, though, posting an 89 wRC+ and just 0.2 fWAR in a 246 plate appearances, the vast majority of which came against right-handed pitching.

The lefty-swinging Joyce has long exhibited one of the game’s most pronounced left/right splits, slashing a career .250/.351/.451 (121 wRC+) against righties, versus just .184/.267/.306 (61 wRC+) against same-side arms. Despite the down year in ’18, Joyce’s 35% hard-hit rate was one of the highest of his career, and he maintained his always-robust walk rates, checking in at 14.2% to end the season.

He’ll serve as an ideal corner-outfield depth piece for Atlanta, and perhaps even an upgrade over incumbent Nick Markakis in right field (Steamer projects the two at an identical 102 wRC+). Despite trading for the plummeting Adam Duvall late last season, Atlanta was decidedly light on experienced corner options, so the Joyce signing seems a savvy one indeed.

Cubs Release Junichi Tazawa

By | at

Per Chris Cotillo of Masslive.com, the Cubs have released reliever Junichi Tazawa.

Tazawa had a strong spring for Chicago, striking out nine in just 5 2/3 IP while not allowing a run. The 32-year-old was fighting for the last spot in the Cubs pen, but was on the heels of back-to-back dreadful campaigns in 2017 and ’18.

Tazawa was excellent in a four-year stretch for the Red Sox from 2012-15, distancing himself from walks and homers while keeping hitters at bay with his trademark splitter. A velocity drop in 2016 spelled doom, though, as the righty soon found himself frequent prey for power hitters across both leagues. A two-year, $12MM deal with Miami prior to the 2017 season was a disaster – the Marlins dumped the righty in mid-May after he allowed six homers in just twenty low-leverage innings.

The excellent spring numbers, if perhaps indicative of a return to form, should help the veteran righty latch on somewhere. It’s a bit of a surprise he couldn’t crack the in-flux Cubs ’pen, though perhaps the velocity and secondary stuff simply continue to languish.

Orioles Claim Pedro Severino

By | at

Per a team release, the Orioles have claimed catcher Pedro Severino off waivers from the Nationals.  In a corresponding move, the club has designated INF Stevie Wilkerson for assignment.

Severino, 25, hasn’t hit much at the MLB level since debuting late in 2015, slashing just .187/.273/.287 (47 wRC+) in 282 career big-league plate appearances. The rocket-armed catcher hasn’t had much success in his last three AAA stints either, though he did post a career-best .192 ISO in limited action there last season.

He’ll look to insert himself into the murky Baltimore catching mix, where the inexperienced Chance Sisco/Austin Wynns duo has been competing with veteran Jesus Sucre for the bulk of the action at the position.

Wilkerson, 27, sat out much of 2018 with oblique and hamstring troubles, as well as a suspension for amphetamines, but was reasonably productive at the plate, slugging a career-best .500 in 86 plate appearances for Norfolk.

Mets Sign Ruben Tejada

By | at

Per his agents at Primetime Sports Group, the Mets have signed IF Ruben Tejada to a minors deal. The contract comes with a $750K major league salary, and there aren’t any opt-out chances, Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets.

Tejada, 29, spent his first nine professional seasons with the Mets organization, debuting at the tender age of 20 midway through the 2010 season.  The Panamanian quickly established himself as a solid shortstop option for New York, posting 1.5 fWAR or better three times from 2011-15 despite never accruing more than 501 plate appearances in a single season.

Tejada’s Mets tenure came to an abrupt halt, though, when a vicious Chase Utley takeout slide in Game 2 of the 2015 NLDS fractured his right fibula, ending his season on impact.  He’s never quite been the same since: in 77 appearances over two seasons with the Cardinals, Giants, and Orioles, the slick fielder’s slashed just .207/.275/.268 in 202 plate appearances. Tejada appeared last season for AAA-Norfolk in the Baltimore organization, slashing a meager .230/.291/.298 in 392 plate appearances.

The Mets, who may always have a soft spot for the fan favorite, also have one in back of regular shortstop Amed Rosario, who’s one of just two 40-man players (along with Luis Guillorme) capable of handling the position on a regular basis. Tejada will offer surefire depth, and may indeed seize the utility role if the Mets can again figure out his wayward swing.

Scooter Gennett To Spend 8-12 Weeks On Injured List

By | at

Reds second baseman Scooter Gennett will be sidelined for the next 8-12 weeks due to a right groin strain, Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports (Twitter link).  Gennett suffered the injury yesterday during the second inning of the Reds’ Spring Training game, while making an awkward slide on a fielding play.

The news is a major blow to a Reds team that had a busy offseason in preparation for a return to contention in the NL Central.  Now, Cincinnati will have to wait until mid-May at the earliest to welcome back their All-Star second baseman.

Gennett has been nothing short of outstanding since joining his hometown team prior to the 2017 season, as the infielder has hit .303/.351/.508 with 50 homers over 1135 plate appearances in a Reds uniform.  Originally seen as something of a utility infield option when he first arrived with the team, Gennett’s emergence made him into an unexpected building block for the Reds, and perhaps even a long-term answer at second base (though recent extension talks hadn’t delivered much progress).

Gennett is scheduled to hit free agency after the season, and while the 29-year-old can still produce quite a bit over three or four months of action, his hopes of a big platform year have now been dented by this lengthy stint on the IL.  He’ll have to hope for a relatively quick recovery and then no lingering after-effects from his groin strain, though on the plus side, Gennett has been a pretty durable player throughout the rest of his big league career.

The vacancy at second base will be filled by Jose Peraza, whose former shortstop role will be assumed by minor league signing Jose Iglesias.  Peraza took a big step forward at the plate last season and actually grades out better defensively as a second baseman than as a shortstop, so the Reds should be in decent shape at the keystone.  Iglesias is one of the sport’s better defensive shortstops, so he’ll bring value to the everyday lineup even if his hitting has generally been subpar.  Derek Dietrich, also in camp on a minors contract, was already expected to make Cincinnati’s roster, and Gennett’s absence should solidify Dietrich’s spot as a backup utilityman.

Nick Senzel’s status won’t be impacted by the Gennett news, Reds president of baseball operations Dick Williams told reporters (including C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic).  The top prospect has played second base in the past, though Senzel is still ticketed to begin the season at Triple-A and will be playing as a center fielder, in order to eventually help the Reds at that position.

Jason Hammel Announces Retirement

By | at

In a surprising development, veteran right-hander Jason Hammel has told the Rangers that he is retiring after 13 Major League seasons.  Hammel had signed a minor league deal with the Rangers this winter, and was informed yesterday that he had made the team’s Opening Day roster.

Hammel’s decision doesn’t come entirely out of left field, as he recently stated that he had no interest in pitching in the minor leagues, and would hang up his spikes if he didn’t remain in the Show.  As per Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News (Twitter link), Hammel simply “decided he needed to go and be with his family, something you could tell was weighing on his mind this spring.”

Rangers GM Jon Daniels told The Athletic’s Levi Weaver and other media that Hammel “was very apologetic about the timing” of his decision, coming so soon after the team decided to include him on its 25-man roster.  With Hammel now out of the picture, Jeanmar Gomez (another minor league signing) will break camp with the team.

Originally a 10th-round pick for the Rays in the 2002 draft, Hammel rose from that unheralded draft position to pitch 1810 1/3 Major League innings from 2006-18, starting 298 of his 377 career games.  Never a big strikeout pitcher or a particularly hard thrower, Hammel relied on solid control and durability to become a rotation piece for six different teams over the course of his career.

That skillset resulted in just shy of $60MM in career earnings for Hammel, including a pair of multi-year free agent deals with the Cubs and Royals.  Hammel’s stint with the Cubs from 2014-16 was the productive stint of his career, as he posted a 3.59 ERA, 8.5 K/9, and a 3.62 K/9 rate over 446 innings (all of them in 78 starts) for Chicago.  Unfortunately for Hammel, a late-season elbow injury kept him from participating in the Cubs’ historic playoff run in 2016, though his 166 2/3 frames of 3.83 ERA pitching in the regular season netted him a well-earned World Series ring.

We at MLBTR congratulate Hammel on a fine career, and we wish him all the best as he embarks on his post-playing endeavors.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top